November 12, 2026
For years the Lighting of the Doves has been the one night that opens the holidays in Town Center. That night comes with the fireworks, the crowd and the countdown. This year it is still the opening night, but two new events turn it into a schedule that repeats every week.
The Woodlands Township has added The Market at Holiday on The Waterway, a vendor market along the lights route that runs Thursday through Saturday evenings. It also added Waterway Winter Nights, free live music with fireworks in Waterway Square on three Fridays in December. Visit The Woodlands calls Winter Nights a sister event to the Doves. In practice it brings the Doves' fireworks back three more times.
Add it up and the stretch from opening night on Nov. 21 to Dec. 19 has twelve market nights and three fireworks Fridays, where it used to have one festival night. If you live near Town Center, December starts to look like a weekly calendar.
Most of the season's traditions start within one four-day window, Thursday, Nov. 19 through Sunday, Nov. 22.
The Woodlands Mall also gets started early. Santa photos begin Friday, Nov. 13, outside Macy's. Walk-ins are allowed, but time-slot reservations are encouraged. The 40-foot tree in The Courtyard plays a synchronized light and music show every 30 minutes from sunset until the mall closes.
Opening weekend is when the big crowds come out. The rest of the season follows a weekly pattern.
Holiday on The Waterway is a free lights walk with more than one million lights, running from Nov. 21 through Jan. 3, 2027. The Township's Parks & Recreation Department builds the displays, which include larger-than-life snowflakes, ornaments, gift boxes and light tunnels. The two new events fill specific nights of the week around those lights.
| Night | What's on along the Waterway | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | The Market at Holiday on The Waterway | 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Friday | The Market, plus Waterway Winter Nights on Dec. 4, 11 and 18 | Market 5 to 9 p.m., Winter Nights 7 to 9 p.m. |
| Saturday | The Market, plus hot beverage vendors on site | 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Every night | Market Street in Lights shows, hourly | 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. |
The organizer's site says The Market runs through Dec. 19 and closes on Thanksgiving Day. That means Thursday, Nov. 26 is skipped, so the first full Thursday-to-Saturday week begins Dec. 3. The Market has vendors selling gifts, seasonal finds and holiday treats along more than a mile of light displays.
On the Market Street side, the 70-foot tree runs a three-minute synchronized show every hour from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., every day through Dec. 31. With shows that often, you can arrive at any point in the evening and catch one within the hour.
Dec. 4, 11 and 18 are the only nights when everything overlaps. The Market is open, the lights are on, and Waterway Winter Nights fills Waterway Square at 31 Waterway Square Place with live music from 7 to 9 p.m. The event is free. A seven-minute fireworks show over The Woodlands Waterway starts at 8:55 p.m. each night, weather permitting.
A few details are worth planning around:
The Saturday after the first Winter Nights adds one more event. The Glow and Go 5K starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, on The Woodlands Waterway at 2099 Lake Robbins Drive. Registration is $35 and includes a finisher medal and packet. Holiday glow attire is encouraged. Dec. 5 is also a Market night, so that weekend has Friday fireworks followed by a Saturday evening race.
With more weeknight and Friday events, parking and the trolley matter more. The Township lists three convenient spots near Holiday on The Waterway:
The organizer asks visitors not to park at Market Street, since those spaces are reserved for Market Street customers.
The free Town Center Trolley stops at The Woodlands Mall, Market Street, Waterway Square and Hughes Landing. Rides are first come, first served, and the busiest hours are 6 to 8 p.m. The posted trolley schedule is 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Lined up against the event calendar, those hours work out like this:
You can follow the trolley in real time on the Town Center Trolley tracker. The organizer also posts a 2026 map and brochure showing featured lights and activities.
Swan boats give you a view of the lights from the water instead of the crowded walkway. Riva Row Boat House offers Holiday on The Waterway Swans at $60 per boat. Each ride lasts an hour, includes complimentary hot cocoa, and seats two to four people. Departures on available dates are at 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
With four people in a boat, that comes to $15 a person. You have to register in advance. If you cancel more than 72 hours ahead, you can reschedule or get a credit or a full refund. Between 24 and 72 hours, you can reschedule or get a rain-check credit. Within 24 hours, the reservation is final. For a Winter Nights Friday, the 7:30 p.m. departure gets you back to the dock before the 8:55 fireworks.
The events close one at a time, starting a week before Christmas:
Two weeks after Christmas, the Waterway is down to just the lights, so a walk then is much quieter than one on a Friday in early December. The ice rink stays open two more weeks after that.
At Garcia Real Estate Group, we've watched Town Center become a place people go to every week in December, not just once a year. If you're thinking about which part of The Woodlands puts these Friday nights within a short walk or one trolley ride, we're happy to talk it through over a cocoa on the Waterway. Contact Us.
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